San Cassiano | Dolomites | South Tyrol

in the heart of the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site

San Cassiano at the foot of the majestic walls of three mountains: Conturines, La Varella and Lagazuoi, boasts a rich tradition of four and five-star hospitality and gourmet restaurants. San Cassiano also offers a pedestrian zone with hotels, shops, cafés, a tourist information office and a quaint museum of Ladin history.
A modern gondola (transport capacity of 3000 people/hr) links San Cassiano to the ski circuit between Corvara and La Villa, in which one is also able to reach the Sellaronda.

Bear Museum - Museum Ladin Ursus ladinicus in San Cassiano

When, on 23 September 1987, Willy Costamoling from Corvara first entered the cave under the mountain known as the Conturines,
he could not have imagined that he was to make a find of enormous
importance: the cave was full of fossil bones of the cave bear, an
animal now extinct. The resulting information is of vital importance in
learning and understanding more about the Dolomites in prehistoric
times.

In the following years the cave was extensively excavated,
measured and investigated by a team from the University of Vienna led
by Professor Gernot Rabeder. The results of the research were
sensational: the Conturines bear belonged to a new species of bear,
never before described, which was subsequently designated Ursus
ladinicus in honour of the Ladin people. The remains of a cave lion were
also found.